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Part of the difficulty in answering your question is the question itself. Normally I would look in a dictionary to see if I could figure out how to apply the word "relationship" to electricity and hardware - but doing so did not help me. Looking at Wiki did not help either Relationship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So - I don't know what you are asking. That said, there are plenty of topics where I would not know enough to ask a even question correctly... so I don't fault you for the way you asked your question. I mention all of the above to explain that the info below might not be anything like what you wanted to know.

Most homes and offices use alternating current (AC) - which means that the voltage goes positive and negative at different times (hopefully, in a sinusoidal pattern :-)

Most vehicles use direct current (DC) e.g. the voltage does not vary intentionally (it will vary with loading like when you start the motor).

A lamp that makes use of AC is an example of "hardware" in your question. You do not have to do much to the electricity in order to make use of it in a light bulb... probably just a switch is needed to turn on the lamp. A flashlight (torch) that makes use of DC is an example of hardware that usually just needs a switch to turn it on.

"Electronics" is not a well defined term. Different people would consider different items as electronic... but as far as power goes, generally speaking, whatever power (DC or AC) is being supplied to an electronic item, that power will probably be converted or changed in some way to meet the needs of the various parts (chips) inside the electronic item. For example, the radio in a vehicle might be supplied from a 12 or 6 volts DC - but some of the chips inside of the radio need 3.3 volts - other chips need 5 volts and still other parts need 12 volts. So there are chips that provide power management to supply all of those various voltages.

If the radio in question is plugged into an AC supply - then there are chips that convert the AC into DC and much of the same chips that provide power management to supply all of those various voltages are still present in those types of radios.

Electricity is like life blood for the electronics. Without electricity no electronic device or computer will work.

Smaller devices need small amount of electricity and larger devices need very high currents. I read on net that one of the early computers when switched on and working, dimmed the lights of a city in US!!!

But today's electronic devices (like wristwatches) consume less than few micro amperes current. That is why with such a small battery the size of a medicinal tablet, the wristwatch works continuously for more than 2-3 years.

All the electronic devices and computers work with direct current (DC) only. The direct currrent is converted to electronic pulses by the clock in electronic devices/computers and it is these pulses (on and off of the electron flow) that flow through the devices giving you the feel of the computers.

By the way our household electricity is in the form of alternating current (AC) (like the waves on water) and the power supply in the computers/electronic devices converts the AC in to DC so that these devices can use this DC current to power them.

There is no simple answer to what you're asking. An electronic device consumes energy to produce work. That energy is provided by the electricity supplied to the device. What voltage a device wants or needs is determined by what it does and how its built. Devices used in your home are designed to use the AC prower your power utility provides. For me here in Canada thats 120 volts AC 60 Hz. If I buy something for my car its going to use 12 Volts DC, because thats what the car is designed around.

Yeah, apparently my question is a little broad in itself which can't be easily explained in simple terms lest I, on my part, have the fundamental knowledge of circuits, switches, and stuff. I appreciate some of the decent answers posted so far though.

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